


tmi/ shadowhunter one shots

by ghcstkinq



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, One Shot Collection, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-07-16 09:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7262824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghcstkinq/pseuds/ghcstkinq
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is where I'm gonna post any shadowhunters/tmi one shots I write. They'll be from all types of ships from there, but the ship will be in the chapter titles so yeah.  These will all (most likely) not contain sexual stuff unless I feel like it or someone requests it.<br/>Also, if you have a request, please send it to my Tumblr (http://ghcstprince.tumblr.com/) as I don't use ao3 as much and won't see it as quickly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The morning after (malec)

Magnus woke up feeling better than he’s had in three centuries. Last night was amazing, he wished he could rewind time to do it all over again, but sadly, magic was limited in that area. Even the High Warlock of Brooklyn had his limitations.

Opening his eyes, he turned his body on his bed to face his boyfriend. Wait, was Alec his boyfriend? They’d been on a few dates—which mainly consisted of just eating and talking—and after last night… well, he hoped the raven-haired boy felt something to that effect. But right now, when Alec was sleeping peacefully, Magnus didn’t very much care. He just hoped that whatever this was could continue for a long time.

As quietly and softly as he could, Magnus got out of the bed and went on a search for clothes. He quickly got dressed and fixed his hair, before walking out to his kitchen and making Alec a cup of coffee—black with a tad bit of sugar, just how he liked it. He didn’t bother using his magic to make it, it would’ve taken more energy than it was worth.

Magnus walked back into his bedroom to see that Alec hasn’t so much as moved an inch. He smiled. Alec looked so peaceful and calm when he was sleeping—all of his worry lines and stress, and overall rigid posture wasn’t there anymore because he didn’t have to worry about fighting demons. Right now, he could sleep and pretend he doesn't have any problems.

He almost felt bad for waking him up, but he knew that Alec’s friends would be suspicious if they noticed he wasn’t at the institute. Magnus set the cup of coffee on the bedside table and lightly touched Alec’s bare shoulder. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Magnus…”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Magnus said, then bent down so their faces were across from each other. “You got to wake up, Alexander. Jace and Isabelle will be worried if you aren’t at the institute, like, twenty minutes ago.”

Alec slowly opened his bright hazel eyes, looking content, but they held an anxiety that was always behind them. He slowly sat up, revealing the rest of his torso. Magnus noted with a certain proudness all of the scratches, bruises, and hickeys the boy had. He didn’t know how Alec would explain those, but he was sure it would be funny.

Alec rubbed his eyes and looked at Magnus as he stood up. “So, uh… last night was…”

“If you say magical, Alexander, I swear that I won’t hesitate to kick you out right now,” Magnus said, and Alec smiled in response.

“I was going to say 'something', but that works too,” he said, a certain hitch to his voice. He looked over to the coffee. “Is that for me?”

“Yeah, drink up.” Magnus said, and then smiled at him. “So, for a virgin, you sure knew what you were doing last night.”

Alec, who had been sipping his coffee, abruptly lowered the cup. “I—I really don’t know how to respond to that?”

Magnus laughed. “You weren’t supposed to. But the point is that… well, I had a lot of fun with you.”

Alec took another swig of his coffee. “I did too. We should do it again sometime.” He paused, his cheeks suddenly darkening. “M—maybe not the sex, but… you know what I mean.”

Magnus nodded and took the cup of coffee, now completely drank, and kissed him. “We can do whatever you’d like to, Alec. But right now, you should get dressed.”

Alec nodded, and not caring about his nakedness, stood up and started collecting his clothes, getting dressed in them. He was almost done, but there was one problem. “Where’s my hoodie?”

Magnus shrugged. “I don’t know, in the front room, maybe.”

The pair walked in the front room, where there was no hoodie to be found. “Or… not.”

Alec cursed. “I need my hoodie. What am I supposed to say to Izzy when she sees all of… this? Or Jace? By the angel, my parents are coming home today.”

He looked so distressed that Magnus wished he was still asleep, not having to worry about anything. “It’s not a big deal, Alec. You have a million hoodies; I’ll just give you one.” He said, then snapped his fingers, and he was now covered in one of his hoodies.

Alec’s eyes widened. “Is this really one of mine?”

“Do you think I’d really give you something that looks like that if it wasn’t yours?” Magnus said, with a small smile. “When I find your other one, I’ll give it to you.”

Smiling, he kissed Magnus’ cheek. “You’re amazing, you know that, right?”

“You are too,” Magnus said, and the two walked to the front door.

They looked at each other before Alec made the first move and kissed him, pulling Magnus close using the belt loop in his jeans. Magnus put his hands on the small of his back, and used his lips to part Alec’s, using his tongue and swirling it in a motion that he knew Alec loved.

Alec made a moaning noise deep in his throat before he separated himself. He was still holding on to Magnus’ belt loops, however, and so Magnus still held Alec close. “I’ll see you soon, okay?” He said.

“Yeah, soon.” Magnus said, and Alec leaned up to kiss him before separating himself completely.

As Alec left, Magnus couldn’t help but think about how much he cared about him. They’ve only known each other a few short months, but he already felt stronger emotions towards Alec than he could ever remember feeling. I am so whipped, he thought.

“What are you doing to me, Alexander?” He asked himself, even though he very well knew the answer.


	2. coffee shop thing (clace)

Jace was not happy. First it rained, and completely ruined his new shoes, then the barista got his coffee order wrong, and now, this red headed girl was staring at him.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. The girl was cute, and she was looking at him. But the way she looked at him made Jace feel like he was being studied under a microscope. She would stare at him with a sort of strange, angry expression, and then turn back to her notebook and write something down (which wasn’t helping the whole “being studied” idea), and then repeat it a few seconds later.

If Jace wasn’t waiting for his brother to meet up with him, he would’ve simply left the little café, but as it were, he didn’t want to be rude. Even if Alec is late, Jace thought, surely he has an excuse. 

Then the girl and Jace made eye contact, and held it for about ten seconds. She has pretty eyes, Jace thought, but they weren’t pretty enough to deal with doing this much longer. When the girl looked back down, Jace thought he had won. But a few minutes later, she looked back up at him, stared, and went back to her notebook.

That was about the time that Jace lost it and walked over to the girl’s table. Without really looking at her, he said, “You know, most girls just tell me how hot I am and then leave, they don’t keep staring at me like you are. What’s your deal?”

The girl looked up at Jace, completely mortified, and slammed her book shut. Jace realized she was doing something that had to do with the book. “Uh—um…” She stammered, but Jace didn’t care.

“Oh? What’s this?” Jace asked, moving her hand away from the book. It had a completely plain black cover, but he could tell that it was, “A sketchbook?”  
She sunk low in her chair, her face as red as her hair. “Y—yeah…”

“Were you drawing me?” Jace asked, not knowing how to feel. Nobody has ever drawn him before, much less a complete stranger. The girl nodded, and Jace felt obligated to ask. “Can I see it?”

“No! It’s not even finished, nothing about it is—”

“You were staring at me for half-an-hour and drawing me, I think I have a right to see it, don’t you? I won’t look at anything else, just turn to the page that has me on it.”

Reluctantly, the girl sat up and did as Jace requested. He looked down, not knowing what to expect, but being surprised anyway. The drawing was really… good. It was only a small sketch, of him holding his coffee cup. He only had one eye and he wasn’t even sitting at a table yet, but she caught the likeness of everything so perfectly already. Needless to say, Jace was impressed.

“It’s… it’s really good.” Jace said, and the girl’s face got even darker.

The bell door rang, signaling someone walking into the café, and Jace turned to see his big brother Alec, standing there completely soaked. He smiled at him before turning back to the girl and grabbing a pencil. He wrote his number down on the top of the page.

“I’m Jace, by the way.” He said as he sat the pencil down.

“Clary.” The girl said lightly, looking at his number.

“Look, Clary, I’ve got to go, but… maybe you could call me sometime and you could… I don’t know, finish that drawing? Or maybe start a new one.”

She nodded, but didn’t meet Jace’s gaze. Jace looked back at Alec, said goodbye to Clary, and walked out of the café.

“Wait, I didn’t get my coffee,” Alec said in protest.

“You were forty-five minutes late; you don’t deserve coffee.”

Alec sighed. “So who was the girl?”

“I don’t know,” Jace said. “But she’s cute, isn’t she?”


	3. coffee shop thing (malec)

“Magnus, don’t look now, but your little crush is coming over here,” Magnus’s coworker, Simon, said in his normal mocking tone.

“Oh, hush,” Magnus said, but he looked around anxiously for the boy in the café line. 

Soon, he spotted him: Alexander Lightwood. He was just a little shorter than Magnus, with dark black hair and pale skin. He always wore plain things, just pants, a shirt, and sneakers, but he could make it look good.

Of course, maybe it was weird to develop a crush on someone you barely knew—Magnus didn’t ever see him outside of the café where he worked, and even though he comes in every morning, it’s not like they chatted all that much—but Magnus simply couldn’t help it. Alexander was possibly one of the most attractive person he’s ever laid eyes on.

“Well,” Simon said, nudging his shoulder a little. “You know what his usual order is, why don’t you go ahead and make it for him. I got the line settled as it is.”

“Really?” Magnus asked, even though it wasn’t all that busy. There was maybe six other people in the line, not counting Alexander.

“Yeah, go knock yourself out. But if you don’t get his number this time, I am telling everyone how chicken shit you are.”

Magnus rolled his eyes at the empty threat and walked over to the coffee machine. He grabbed a Styrofoam cup and poured coffee inside it, then grabbed a few packets of sugar and a coffee stirrer—knowing that’s exactly what Alexander gets every time.

When he was finished, he set the cup down on the counter and cleared his throat. “Alexander! Over here!” He called, hoping he’d get the boy’s attention on the first try.

Luckily, he did. Alexander looked up at Magnus with his deep blue eyes, offered a ghost of a smile, and walked over to the counter. 

“Hey, Magnus, right?” Alexander asked, smiling a little more. “How did you know—”

“You always order this, and you looked like you were in a hurry, so I figured I’d just make it.” Magnus said, still beaming about him remembering his name.  
Alexander nodded as he pulled out his wallet. “Yeah, thank you. I’ve got to meet my friend before class, but… you know, I need my caffeine fix.”

Magnus laughed as Alexander pulled out a ten and handed it to him. “Yeah, I get it. But don’t worry, I got you.” He said as he put in the order in the cash register and put the cash in.

As Magnus took out the change, Alexander cleared his throat. “So, um, could you lend me a pen with my receipt?”

In two swift movements, Magnus grabbed the receipt, closed the cash register, and grabbed a pen from a little cup they had up front. He set it all on the counter and slid it over to him.

Magnus watched as Alexander, with a shaking hand, wrote down something that was obviously a number. “So,” he said in a voice with confidence that didn’t match his shaking hands. “I was thinking that we could… hang out sometime. I mean, I always see you here, and you seem… cool. Of course, you don’t have to, but… here’s my number.”

Magnus, out of anxiousness, grabbed the number quickly. “Yeah, I’ll definitely call you later. Thanks. Enjoy your coffee, Alexander.”

He put all his stuff away and grabbed the coffee. “Thanks, and call me Alec, by the way.”

“Alright, bye, Alec.” Magnus said, and watched hopelessly as he walked out of the café. 

As Magnus walked back, Simon smiled at him. “So did you do it?”

Magnus tapped his pocket, where Alec’s number was secured. “Oh, I didn’t have to do anything. Alec gave me his number on his own accord.”

Simon rolled his eyes as he handed a girl her order. “You’re the cockiest sort of person.”

“What can I say?” Magnus said with a smirk. “It’s the Magnus effect in action.”


	4. The book (malec)

“Alec, I’ve told you a thousand times,” the librarian said, tapping a pen on a stack of papers, presumably sign-in sheets. “They haven’t brought the book back yet.”

Alec bit his lip. He’s been needing this book for a month, and he knew it was well overdue. “I know, but that was last week, and you didn’t even check anything. Are you sure they didn’t bring it back?”

“I know what goes on in my library, Lightwood. And I told you that I’d notify you if I got the book back, but I haven’t.”

“Well, could you tell me who it is that needs to turn the book in?” Alec asked, leaning in closer to the desk. Him and Mrs. Henderson have been close since Alec transferred to this school, and he was pretty confident that she would tell him.

That confidence was depleted almost immediately. “Nope, sorry. It’s against school policy. You know that.”

Alec’s hazel eyes met her brown ones for a long time. “I’ll give you five dollars,” he said.

“Ten.” She said with a wide smile, revealing a stain of bright-red lipstick on her teeth.

“Seven,” Alec said, reaching for his wallet.

“Deal.” Mrs. Henderson said, then they shook hands and Alec handed her the cash. Then she leaned on the desk, her mouth almost against Alec’s ear, making him feel like he was a secret agent. “His name is Magnus Bane. The only thing I can tell you is that he’s a major drama geek, so you’d do well to check the theatre.”

He backed away and nodded. “Alright, thanks. I’ll see you soon.”

Alec didn’t like the theatre very much. It was cold and dark and it always seemed to smell like flowery perfume and cheese. But he had to go through the theatre to get to Magnus, and to get the book, so he powered through it, feeling disappointed when the stage was all empty except for an older looking woman wearing a floral dress. He knew her as the drama teacher Ms. Herondale.

“Hey Ms. H.,” Alec said, walking over to where she stood on the stage.

She looked up from the packet she was reading and smiled. “Hi, Alec. What can I do for you, sweetheart?”

“Uh, is Magnus Bane here? I need to talk to him.”

Her eyes widened so subtly that Alec wasn’t sure they actually did, but after a second, she nodded. “Yeah, he’s backstage with all the other actors.” 

Suddenly, he felt stupid. School just ended five minutes ago, obviously, everyone was going to still be backstage getting ready for… whatever. He could’ve saved himself time just going the hallway that lead backstage. “Right, of course. Thank you.”

“No problem, good luck, Alec.” She said, and not wanting clarification, he took a deep breath and walked backstage.

Alec has never been backstage of a theatre before, and it was unlike anything he’s ever seen. There was glitter, feather boas, wigs, and costume racks strewn out everywhere. So much that Alec couldn’t take a step without stepping on something shiny or hairy. There were a few vanities, all filled with makeup and even more boas. The entire place smelled like plastic and hairspray. Everyone glanced towards Alec as he walked towards the center of the room.

“Where is Magnus Bane?” Alec asked, trying to sound demanding, but it probably came off as nervous as he felt. He never liked having any attention, let alone twenty kids staring at him like he was from another planet.

A few seconds later, a tall Asian guy raised his hand slightly. He was wearing a toga and sandals. He looked at Alec up and down before smiling. “Uh, that would be me. How can I help you?”

“Could we talk? Over… not here?” Alec asked, hoping that Magnus would get the signal.

Thankfully he did, and even though Alec was a complete stranger, Magnus motioned for Alec to follow him to the side of the room, behind an array of costume racks. “So… who are you, exactly? I don’t ever recall meeting you, and I’m pretty sure I would have.”

“Alec Lightwood,” he said, then shook his hand quickly before continuing, “I’m here to ask you about a book that you haven’t returned to the library.”

Magnus laughed. “You came all the way here to get a library book?”

“I need it for my finals report—it’s thirty percent of my grade and it’s due in three weeks. So yes, I came here to get it from you. Where is it?”

He seemed to understand that Alec was being serious, and straightened up. “It’s in my apartment, somewhere. I could find it tonight and turn it into the library in the morning.”

“That sounds good,” Alec said, with a nod. “Just… turn in your books on time.”

Never good with exits, Alec simply nodded and walked off into the hallway. He just hoped Magnus would do as he said.

As he was making his way out, Alec heard the unmistakable click-clack of someone running down the linoleum floor. He turned to see Magnus running towards him and stopped. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

“Yeah?” Alec asked as Magnus stopped in front of him. He looked at him and saw that Magnus was wearing gold eyeshadow, which brought out the color of his amber eyes. He looked away.

“In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m pretty forgetful,” Magnus started, rubbing his hands through his already spiked-up hair. “So, could we exchange numbers? That way you could text me to remind me to look for it…”

Alec was about to just simply take out his phone and exchange their numbers when he looked at Magnus’s face and realized something: he was blushing, playing with his hands, and not meeting Alec’s eyes. He couldn’t be…

“Are you,” Alec began, taking a deep breath. “Are you flirting with me?”

Magnus smiled and tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. “Well,” he said, still not meeting his eyes. “It’s not every day you meet someone so determined. Would it be so terrible if I were?”

Alec paused, not sure how to react. He’s never had someone so openly flirt with him before. “I guess not,” he said with a sigh. He pulled out his phone and opened a new message, then handed it to Magnus. 

He smiled, typed for a moment, then handed Alec his phone back, who simply slid it back in his pocket. “So, I’ll talk to you later, right?” Magnus said.

“Right—please, don’t forget the book,” Alec said. “I will spam you.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Magnus said, and with a wink, walked away.

Alec scowled as he felt his body heat up. That kid was certainly... something.


	5. confessions (malec)

Alec was upset—no, he wasn’t—he was furious. Even though, in the back of his mind, he knew Magnus and him weren’t exclusive, and that in the end it had been his decision to be that way, and not Magnus’s—and going to this party separately, and not as a couple at all, had also been his idea.  


But what Magnus was doing was crossing the line.

Magnus and Alec had been seeing each other for four months at this point—seeing each other meaning meeting up at obscure places for dates, and Alec going to Magnus’s apartment every so often. At first, it was simply about sex, so not to create anything too serious, and that was fine, Alec wasn’t really ready to be exclusively dating a guy yet. But now, Alec wasn’t too sure. 

He liked Magnus, obviously, or else he wouldn’t have had sex with him in the first place. But he felt different about Magnus now—he always wanted to be around him, and not in the way he usually did, but in a non-sexual way. And he knew that Magnus felt the same way, they’ve had multiple arguments about Alec not taking what they had seriously.

And that’s why what Magnus was doing was crossing the line, because he was doing it on purpose, just to spite Alec.

Magnus was standing a little off to the side, but close enough to the middle to be able to be seen by Alec, flirting with another guy. Touching his shoulder, laughing way too hard at whatever he says, and leaning really close to him. 

He looked gorgeous, though, just like he always does. He wore his black hair spiked up, his normal glittery makeup and eyeliner that made his amber eyes pop out a bit more. He wore a black crop-top that said, “Say hey if your gay!” on it in bejeweled lettering, along with skinny jeans that he wore low enough to catch a glimpse of his happy trail.

The guy was cute, he supposed. He was a little shorter than Magnus—who stood at 6’2—with black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Which, he knew, Magnus chose that guy on purpose to make Alec even more annoyed, because that was the same traits Alec had.

At first, Alec simply walked over there to say hi to Magnus, and talk to him, but then he saw what Magnus was doing and just got upset. So, without acknowledging Magnus or the strange boy, he simply grabbed a beer and stalked off to the front porch of the frat house.

It was cold out, not the sort of cold that made you shiver, but the type of cold that made you feel mildly inconvenienced. Alec didn’t mind it, though, he preferred being cold to warm, enjoyed it, even. He leaned against the railing and took a single sip of his beer. He didn’t like the stuff, but he also didn’t feel like being sober.

He couldn’t really be too mad at Magnus, which just made him more upset. Magnus had a good reason to be like that. Alec had never taken what they had seriously, never had one conversation about what Magnus meant to him. Even though they both knew how Alec felt, he could understand Magnus being upset about their relationship not being validated. He hasn’t even told Magnus that he loved him yet, purely because he was scared.

Alec felt horrible, wishing he’d just been smarter about the situation, then maybe he wouldn’t be possibly losing one of the most important people in his life.

“Hey, man, what’s wrong?” He heard a familiar voice say, and turned to see his best friend Jace standing next to him, his golden eyes only half-full of concern. Alec couldn’t blame him for that, he was always being sulky, after all.

Alec glanced inside the window to see that Magnus had moved him and the boy just so he would be able to see him. Rolling his eyes, Alec said, “It’s—it’s Magnus.”

Jace nodded understandably. He was one of the few people to know about his sexuality and his relationship with Magnus. “Yeah, I saw him flirting with Will. Did you two break up?”

“No!” Alec said defensively, then put his head down. “At least, I hope not. We got into a fight about me not… me not showing him how much I care, about how it looked like I only used him for… stuff. But we didn’t break up…”

Jace patted his best friend’s shoulder. “Look, Alec, all Magnus wants is validation. You can tell him how much you care all you want, but you haven’t shown him that you care about him. The only way he’ll forgive you is if you show him that you care.”

“But—I can’t. I’m scared.” Alec said, knowing full-and-well Jace was talking about coming out.

“I know it’s scary, but you got Magnus, and you go me, and the rest of our friends. No matter what, we’ll support you. Who cares what other people think?”

“I guess you’re right,” Alec said, setting his beer down.

“I’m always right,” Jace said, obviously pleased with himself. 

“Thanks, Jace,” Alec said, and took a step to go inside. “If this all goes to hell for me, I blame you.”

Jace smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Alec went back inside, and this time when he saw the two, he didn’t shy away. He walked right to them and looked Magnus in the eyes.

“Hi, Alexander,” Magnus said, as if they were just classmates. “Nice party, huh?”

Not in the mood to play games, Alec simply rolled his eyes. “What do you think you’re doing, Magnus?”

“What are you talking about?” Magnus said, mocking confusion.

Alec gestured to the boy, who looked moderately uncomfortable. “With him? Do you think that flirting with him when you’re dating someone else is a good idea? Were you trying to make him jealous?”

“I don’t know what you mean, I’m not seeing anyone.” Magnus said. “Besides, I don’t think it’s any business of yours.”

“It is my business.” Alec said, raising his voice a little. He wasn’t a yeller, and even though it wasn’t that loud, it was about as loud as he ever got. “It’s all completely, one-hundred percent, my fucking business, Magnus Bane.”

“Oh?” Magnus said, his lips forming a smirk. “And why is that?”

Alec sputtered, he knew he ought to say it, but with Will looking at him with curious eyes, and Magnus looking at him like an expecting parent, all he could do was sputter out the words: “You… you know why.”

It was definitely the wrong thing to say, he didn’t need to see Magnus’s heartbroken face to know that, but looking at it certainly drilled it in. “Right,” he said, handing Will his drink. “I would say it was a fun party, Will, but, it wasn’t. I’m just going to go.”

Before Alec could comprehend Magnus’s words, he was walking away. And that’s when Alec realized that it was now or never, and he didn’t want to lose Magnus. So he hurried after him, pushing people that got in the way.

“Magnus! Wait!” Alec yelled, and the small pause he gave in reply was enough for Alec to be able to catch up with him and grab his hand. “Can we talk?”

He turned to Alec and yanked his hand away, but he didn’t bother to move. “We can talk right here, right now, or never, Alexander. It’s your choice, really.”

Alec looked around. They were in the middle of the frat houses living room, where a lot of people he didn’t even know were. He wasn’t sure if he could say anything in front of them. He looked to the ground. People were starting to look at them, picking up on the negative energy.

“Well?” Magnus asked, crossing his arms.

“You flirting with Will was my business.” Alec mumbled, and looked up at Magnus. He looked pleased that he was saying something.

“And why is that, Alec? Why would you care about who I flirt with?”

“Because—I…” Alec took a deep breath to calm himself. He looked at Magnus, and suddenly, he realized that all he cared about was what Magnus thought, and how Magnus felt. Jace was right, he had people who cared for him, why bother caring about everyone else? “I love you, Magnus. I love you more than anything—and I want to be with you. I love you so much.”

Magnus smiled, and thankfully the small tears that came from his eyes were from happiness. “I love you too, Alec. I always have.”

As the two boys kissed, they were welcomed by the cheers and hoots of their drunken classmates.


	6. The Morning After Pt. 2

To say that Alec Lightwood was conflicted was an understatement.

On one hand, he had just spent the night with the most amazing guy he’d ever met. He was sweet, funny, and he didn’t mind that Alec had wanted to hide their relationship. It didn’t even matter that Magnus was a Downworlder, he was a good person—well, half-person, whatever. And even if he didn’t know where exactly their relationship stood yet, he had high hopes for where it was going.

But on the other hand Alec’s body still showed evidence of what had happened between them last night. Magnus hadn’t healed the hickeys and scratches with his magic, and Alec’s stele was in his room in the institute.

And that’s where the confliction comes in. He had loved spending the night with Magnus, and didn’t want to regret it. But he also didn’t want his parents or his siblings to find out about them. His siblings, he knew, didn’t really care—but his parents? He didn’t even want to think about what their reaction would be to this.

So he knew it was best to simply hide it from everyone.

But coming home from staying out all night with tiny bruises and scratches all over his body? Well, that wasn’t really discrete. Even Jace wasn’t that bad.

That’s why when Alec got to the institute, he didn’t go inside. Instead, he circled around the block a few times trying to think of an explanation for staying out all night and looking the way he did.

Staying out all night wasn’t hard to explain—Alec was prone to insomnia—so it wasn’t strange that he’d go out for walks in the middle of the night because he couldn’t sleep. That was an easy lie. And, not technically a lie, since he had gone to Magnus’s in the middle of the night because he couldn’t sleep.

But the marks? That was more difficult. It was pretty obvious what they came from—even if it wasn’t obvious who made them. So anything he said would probably sound like a lie, not that he didn’t try to come up with something anyways.

A cat…? No, he was a Shadowhunter. If a cat could do this to him, that was just embarrassing.

A demon? No, there was too little damage done for it to be demon’s work. Plus, it would warrant Izzy giving him a lecture about not taking his stele or arrows with him, not that he wasn’t positive she was going to give him one anyways.

A werewolf? A vampire? No, for one, that would start a whole ordeal with them, and then they’d run tests on Alec to make sure he wasn’t Changed.

A mortal? He could say someone had tried to mug him—it was New York, and at night; but he didn’t think some mugger, no matter how mundane, would just scratch their victim.

He looked at the sky. Damn, the sun was already pretty high up. He just prayed to anything that was listening that this would work out and made his way to the institute.

He got to the front door, let the scanner ID him, walked in—

And was immediately greeted by his mother—her brows furrowed, and he eyes narrowed. “By the Angel, where were you, Alec?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Alec said plainly. His parents were the easiest to lie to; they didn’t know enough about any of their children to know when they were lying or not. “I went out for a few hours to walk and clear my head.”

She simply looked at him, her face devoid of any emotion. Eventually, she sighed and patted his shoulder. “Just eat something, okay?”

Alec nodded. “Where’s dad?”

“He went with Max to Idris,” she said. “I stayed here to wait on you.”

“So, you’re leaving?” Alec said, not surprised. They never stayed more than a few weeks in the institute before going back.

She hugged him in way of answer. “I would love to stay, Alec, but something important came up last minute. Go find Isabelle and Jace—they were about to leave to try to find you.”

“Okay, mom,” Alec said, hugging her back. “I’ll see you when you get back. Tell Max that I’ll teach him to shoot when he gets back.”

“He’d love that. Alright, bye, Alec,” she said, and turned to walk to the institute’s portal.

He rolled his eyes once he was sure she couldn’t see him. He did not want to be grilled by Izzy or Jace right now. He wanted to go find his stele and get rid of the marks on him. But he didn’t want his siblings to go on a mission to find him while he was inside the institute.

Alec made his way to the training area, where he found both Jace and Isabelle talking in hushed tones. When he came close enough for them to hear, they turned to him.

There was silence amoungst the three of them for a few moments. Izzy rushed towards him first, and hugged him tighter than he’d thought possible. When she let go, she slapped his arm. “Where have you been? We were worried sick! I went in your room to ask you to train with me—and your stele, your arrow—nothing was there!”

Thankfully, Jace saved him from responding to this, by pushing her aside and handing Alec his stele. He clapped his shoulder. “Hey, man, don’t leave the institute without it—you know that.”

“I know,” Alec said, looking at the floor. “Sorry, I was in a hurry.”

“To go where, exactly?” Izzy asked.

“On a walk,” he said. “I had to go clear my head.”

It was Izzy’s turn to look towards the ground. She and Alec had had many talks about how sometimes he just needed to leave. Him and Jace did too, but Jace was too confident a person to back down from meeting Alec’s eyes.

“Just don’t forget your stele,” he said. “And at least bring a knife or something, Alec, you know damn well how dangerous it can be out there.”

“I know,” Alec said. “Thanks for the safety lesson.”

Jace smiled. “Anytime, man.”

With a roll of his eyes, Alec turned from his siblings and walked away. He got to his room, closed the door, and took off his hoodie.

Ready to draw a healing rune on his arm, he threw his hoodie on the floor and looked to see the one he had worn the night before on his bed along with a note. Curious, he walked over to his bed and picked it up. In neat, cursive, and bright blue glitter letters, it read:

“I found your hoodie. Next time, don’t toss it behind my bed. xoxo — Magnus.”

Alec smiled. Magnus had already initiated another date. Well, he initiated a little more than that, but the point was he said they were going to hang out again. He took out his phone, debating on whether or not to text Magnus, when he heard his door being opened.

As fast as he could, he stuffed his stele, the note and his phone inside his pocket. He turned to see Jace and Izzy closing the door. Jace leaned against the door, crossing his arms. 

“What were you reading?” Izzy asked.

Alec took more than a few moments to respond. “Max, uh… wrote me a goodbye note.”

"A goodbye note? From Max?” She glanced back at Jace, who shrugged. She turned back to Alec. “I don't believe you.”

“Fine, it’s not,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “But it’s not really any of your business what I was reading.”

"Touché,” she said, and then touched his neck. “Then again, I think these are my business. What happened?”

“A cat demon… um, mugged me,” he said, and wanted to bash his head against the wall for being so stupid.

“You got mugged… by a cat demon,” Izzy restated monotonously. “What did it even take?”

Jace smiled. “His virginity.”

Alec stood there feeling his face heat up as his siblings laughed at him. His confidence had run out of him and he found himself unable to do anything but stand there. Eventually, he rolled his eyes. “Are you guys done?”

Izzy let out another breathless laugh. “Oh, we’re just teasing.”

“So who was he?” Jace asked.

“Why do you have to assume they were a ‘he’?” Alec asked. He hadn’t came out to Jace, and he knew it was a secret that Izzy would keep. He looked at Izzy and saw she looked confused, too.

Jace laughed. “Come on, man. I’ve known you for how long?” he paused. “It was Magnus, wasn’t it?”

“Magnus? What? No, I wouldn’t, I don’t…” he stopped as he saw them looking at him with an annoyed expression.

“Alec, you can stop lying,” Izzy said. “It’s us.”

“Yeah, man, and congrats,” Jace said. “You could do a lot worse than him.”

Alec’s entire body was warm at this point. He wanted them to leave. “Yeah, thanks, I guess.”

Izzy turned to Jace. “I think we should leave Alec alone.”

Jace nodded and winked at him. “Don’t forget to use a healing rune.”

“And don’t forget to bring your stele with you next time,” Izzy said, and patted his chest. “You never know when a cat demon is going to come out of nowhere and mug you.”

“Yeah, I heard their attacks are becoming more frequent.” Jace said with a smirk, and he walked out of the room. Izzy smiled at Alec before following him out, closing the door behind her.

With them gone, Alec felt he could finally relax. He loved his siblings, he really did, but sometimes their jokes felt a little too personal.

But knowing that they accepted him and Magnus together made him feel a little less conflicted about their relationship. Maybe now he can set his feelings straight.


	7. The Artist and The Art--Clizzy

Finally, Clary was alone. She had not really been left alone in a straight month since she learned she was a Shadowhunter. 

Everybody in this stupid Institute always need something from her. But now she was alone in her room; she was finally able to draw. 

Irony has always been a close friend of hers, however, so now that she had some alone time, the blank page of her sketchbook glared at her and consumed any ideas her head may have come up with.

Just as well, though, because there was a knock at her door. With a half-annoyed, half-relieved sigh, she set her sketchbook aside and opened it. Standing there was Isabelle Lightwood—as beautiful as ever with her tall heels and bright red lipstick. She gave Clary a warm smile. “Hey, I’m sorry to bug you, were you busy?”

“No… not really, I was trying to draw, but…” she shook her head. “What’s up?”

“I just… wanted to see how you were doing, you know, after everything.”

“It sucks, I wish… I wish I could do something right now and… make everything better,” Clary said, not helping the grimace she felt on her face. “But I can’t, and it sucks.”

“I know, it must be hard, realizing you’re a part of this whole different life.” Izzy said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I can’t imagine it. But I want you to know that I’m here to help you, okay? I’ll train you, teach you stuff none of the boys know—and if you need, I’m here if you just need to talk.”

“Izzy, thanks, really,” Clary said, and when she saw her putting her arms up, leaned into them.

“Don’t mention it,” she said, and pulled away. “So what’s up with drawing?”

She shrugged. “I just can’t think of what to draw.”

“Really? With all the demons you’ve seen, you can’t think of anything?” She said with a smile.

“That’s why I’m so annoyed,” Clary said, and walked over to her bed and sat down.

“I could help you with that,” Izzy said, walking in and shutting the door. “Draw me.”

Clary laughed. “Is this to help with you need to be adored?”

“Of course, but it’s also to help your art block,” she said, and sat down across from her. She tapped her knee. “Come on, it’ll be cool.”

“It could take hours,” Clary said. “You got that kind of time?”

“For you? Always.”

Clary felt her cheeks flush. She knew Izzy was just being polite, but her words made her realize how close she was sitting next to her, and how their knees were touching.

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she grabbed her sketchbook and flipped to a clean page. “Okay, how do you want it done?”

Izzy shrugged. “You’re the artist, draw me however you want.”

Clary nodded and began an outline. “If Simon were here, he’d make a joke about drawing you naked,” she laughed, but she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to say it.

Izzy laughed. “Do you draw people naked?”

“Erm… sometimes,” Clary said. “For anatomy practice.”

“Right. Maybe I’ll let you someday.” 

Clary looked up from her sketchbook to see that Izzy’s face looked serious about the offer. She cleared her throat. “To give to one of your suitors?” 

“Oh, please, I ditched those guys. They were assholes,” she said. “Although, it did feel nice to be worshipped.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Clary said with a laugh. She had almost finished the basic outline of Izzy standing up, her seraph blade in hand.

“Really? Well, you should—you’re gorgeous.”

Clary felt her face heat up and imagined she was as red as her hair. “I don’t think I would say that…”

“I would,” Izzy said.

She looked up to see Izzy leaning in close. So close she could smell her vanilla-scented perfume. So close she could feel her breath on her lips. Before Clary realized what was happening, Izzy lowered her sketchbook onto her lap, leaned in closer, and placed a deep kiss onto her lips.

Clary followed suit and kissed back, and then Izzy pulled away and smiled. “I gotta study with Max now, maybe we can continue this tomorrow night?”

Clary nodded, “Yeah—that’d be—that’d be just… great.”

Izzy placed a small kiss on her forehead as she stood up. “Great, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She watched as Izzy left, putting on a show for Clary with her hips and tossing her hair back. She began to think that maybe The Institute wasn’t such a bad place, after all.


End file.
